15 Types of Anti-Trump Commenters

Yes, this is a listicle. The (((New York Times))) recently ran an article titled “For Whites Sensing Decline, Donald Trump Unleashes Words of Resistance,” which contains a good survey of archetypical anti-Trump commenters. It should be noted that I have been following their coverage for a long time, and this particular article actually had a lot of pro-Trump comments. Those kinds of comments are still dwarfed by these shitlib archetypes, whom I had more fun compiling than I should have:

The deeply concerned, who is alarmed by how well-argued, rational, and consistent the fascists are:

I’m struck by how smooth and glib the “white nationalists” and anti-Semites, the immigrant haters, how modern and facile they are. I particularly note the agility of turning their bias around – how if you are black or minority and complain of discrimination, you must be discriminatory yourself. This is how fascism creeps back into America – sounding oh-so-reasonable, exploiting the desire of the media to be “fair and balanced”, trying to be equitable even with racists, that the ideas behind the smooth talk don’t get noticed, don’t get scrutinized and exposed for the vile disease they really are. Racism and hatred, no matter how well disguised, no matter how glibly and cleverly argued, is still morally wrong.

The ethno-masochist, who gets that Trumpism is implicit White populism and hates it accordingly:

“Resistance is Futile”, as the old TV quote says. As working-class whites (my demographic, by the way) enjoyed their white privilege, private jokes, and pointless diversions, they forgot to look forward to the obvious trends of globalization, demographic change and a transforming economy. Assuming the unassailability of the security of their position, they find themselves caught with their pants down; overwhelmed and afraid. As Trump gives voice to their fear and anger, he also reaches the limits of his appeal. He can rant but he can’t stop the inevitable. Resistance IS futile.

The progressive, who wants the racist relics of the past swept away in the name of mocha-colored post-industrial urban dildocracy:

It is not just racism. Trump is overwhelmingly supported by the uneducated over those with college degrees; by rural residents over people from large metropolitan areas; by blue-collar workers over hi-tech professionals and entrepreneurs. In other words, as opposed to Hitler and Mussolini, he is not a harbinger of the future but a ghost of the past. He is the last gasp of the dying class – white working men with no education, mired in nostalgia, anger and drug addiction. But globalization cannot be stopped; industrial jobs are not coming back; and the white idyll of the 1950s, with blacks, Chinese, women and others knowing their proper place, is – thankfully – gone. This is not to say, however, that the politics of nostalgia and resentment are harmless. Witness Brexit and the rise of populism in Europe. Trump can do a lot of damage even he is not elected by simply articulating what his followers are too stupid to know how to say.

The caller for unity, who recognizes the holes blown in American society by multiculturalism and mass immigration, but stresses how we just need to overcome:

As a person of multi-ethnic origin that grew up in the south, I’m not shocked by the current rush to “rage” against the other. I’ve traveled in both worlds, white and brown. Both sides have held deeply rooted, though unspoken, animosity for decades. The Trump effect has merely moved the filter. Rather than take a side and shout, America’s moment of reckoning has come. The choice is clear: become entrenched or solve the underlying issues.”E Pluribus Unum” should become a mission rather than a slogan.

The anti-populist with faith in democracy, who dreams of rallying the faithful to electorally crush the heresy in the name of crushing the heresy:

Just reading this is exasperating and depressing. But rather than wring my hands in despair, I will respond in the only way that will bring about any change: campaign and vote to elect Hillary Clinton our next president.

The Chomskyite, who sees the American burgerprole as a racist who doesn’t want the socialism that would be for his own good:

The cognitive dissonance of the electorate is astounding. Political scientists have been baffled by people voting against their economic interest for years. Trumpism is a furtherance of this phenomenon. Trump supports are selfish and lazy. They have this notion of the American Dream, but that was always a fallacy. For every Ben Carson there are ten thousand Eric Garners. That’s true in the white community too. Trumpians want a free ride like their forefathers had. The destruction of the middle class was accomplished by rich, old white guys, not blacks or Latinos or illegal immigrants. What white America didn’t get was that the degradation of the black middle class was a harbinger of their own demise. Trump will bring back no jobs. Trump doesn’t understand the forces of history nor does he understand basic economics. Clinton won’t bring back the jobs that once fed a nation like coal miner or steelworker, but she has a much better shot of leading the unwashed masses to a new economic world. Clinton won’t lead to the American Dream, but Trump will lead to the American Nightmare.

The smarmy one, who does everything right (or left, rather), while everyone who disagrees is unfit to sniff his farts:

The point is that he has neither the intelligence nor the character the office requires. Then there is the fact that Trump is an ignorant man, and proud of it. I think that is what a lot of his followers find attractive. Life is vary complicated today, more than many can cope with. So they have decided to think whatever they want to think, to hell with facts, logic, and intellectual integrity.

The can’t evener, who has no solution but bawling their eyes (fingertips?) out about the rising popularity of Trump’s platform:

I can’t. I’m the liberal in the room who’s always advocating that we try to listen to the other side, even when that other side is repugnant to us — because I do believe that our political polarization is the fault of both parties, and I certainly see evidence of liberal intolerance among my friends (and myself). I believe the only way forward is to listen, to connect, to try to understand. But this is so completely horrifying. How do you connect with people who want you dead? I can understand pain, and rage at being left behind economically, at extreme frustration and fear over stagnating wages and all the rest of the mess we have, but this hate is beyond anything. How can this be our country? How can we hope to solve our problems when this venom has a national stage–when it’s being enshrined in the Republican Party platform?

The divide et imperator, who is only thinking in terms of homo oeconomicus and how those nameless rich people want us to fight each other:

The problem isn’t “political correctness.” It isn’t immigrants. It’s living in a society in which we’re being pitted against each other as if in a zero-sum game, while the plutocratic, mostly white people at the top laugh all the way to the bank. And that’s exactly what they’re doing. AGAIN! Wake up, America!

The armchair psychologist, who thinks there is something mentally wrong with the public:

Has this nation lost its collective mind, nominating someone so unfit and bigoted as Donald Trump to the highest office?

The character assassin, who thinks Trump is running a deliberately dishonest campaign that he has zero intention of fulfilling should he win, all out of greedy self-interest, even though doing so has made him the most hated person in the Western world and cost him time, money, and business:

Can’t you see Trump’s hypocrisy before your very eyes? He claims “America First” yet almost all the suppliers to his businesses until this year went to the lowest bidders overseas, including China. The narcissistic Trump is only in this for himself. Trump has pulled the wool over your eyes. He lets you vent your anger but Trump cannot follow through on his plans to bring jobs back to the USA. make Mexico pay for a wall or deport all 11 million people undocumented persons in the USA.

The brave one, who thinks Trump supporters need to come out of their closets and face the scrutiny of human resources departments:

You’re not all that proud, if you’re not even willing to sign your name.

The Fox News neurotic, who thinks the efforts of heavily sanitized cuckservative talk shows are to blame for ethnocentrism:

Trump’s ability to get away with stirring the racial pot comes in part from groundwork laid by Fox News, who uses subtle and not so subtle expressions of racism, reenforce the kind of tribal identity and sense of victimization that we’re seeing now. Fox, Limbaugh, et al encourage their audiences to project all their unhappiness onto Blacks, Hispanics and Feminazis rather than seek common ground with or try to understand them. Trump, an enthusiastic watcher of cable news and participant Twitter, took the next step by tearing the thin veil of racism off of Fox News and the Republican Party by saying directly what was barely hidden.

The virtue signaler, who lets everyone know how toxic and noxious he considers Trumpists:

Most depressing article I have read in this campaign season and that’s saying a lot. Ignorance is Democracy’s greatest threat and it is all too well documented in the article. I believe Trump will be defeated, but he is giving new life to the hate mongers who are emboldened to spew their poison. They will not disappear after the election.

The censor’s secretary, who thinks Trumpism should be no-platformed by the mainstream media, which is actually the only thing that could harm his campaign:

Enough with the false equivalence narrative. Enough with the ‘every story has two sides’ constrictions. Trump is a clear menace to not only the U.S. but the world. His ignorance on any issue, his appalling racism, misogyny and brazen aggression make him absolutely unfit for any office let alone the Presidency. Trying to rationalize and, in a way, legitimize his racist narrative is wrong. His point of view has no validity, no merit and does not deserve anything but condemnation. Trump is a menace. Those that support him need to know that their views will not be legitimized, especially in a source as reputable as the New York times.